1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a color motion-picture video telephone for communication of voice, image and other data in real time through a digital communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art
A color motion-picture video telephone is currently known which has a unitary structure composed of: a handset for communication of voice; a voice CODEC, a camera, a display and an image CODEC for communication of an image; and a communication controller for controlling such communications. In such a conventional television telephone, a single camera is tiltable between a normal horizontal position in which it can shoot the speaker in front of the telephone and a tilted position in which it can shoot a picture or a piece of writing placed on a desk or the like.
This prior art is exemplified by the collection of lectures and papers, (Volume 7) D-419, D-420, D-421, D-422, D-423 and D-424, presented at the National Spring Meeting of the Japanese Electric Information Communication Society.
Related Japanese applications by the present common assignee are, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 3-25987 for the structure of a video telephone and Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 3-25991 for the operation of a video telephone.
The conventional video telephone is disadvantageous in that the speaker must hold the handset in one hand for voice communication and that the camera has only a limited range of shooting. When shooting a picture or writing, the camera itself cuts off illumination of an interior lamp to throw a shadow over the picture or writing. Consequently there has been a requirement for a more convenient video telephone equipped with a wider variety of functions.